A Rensselaer County man has been indicted on a federal charge accusing him of offering $1,200 to have an acquaintance killed, prosecutors said Monday.
Marion Lopatniuk, 45, was arraigned Aug. 27 on a charge of using an interstate commerce facility in a murder-for-hire scheme. A grand jury returned the indictment Aug. 12.
Prosecutors allege Lopatniuk used phone lines at the Rensselaer County Correctional Facility to arrange the plot and offered to distribute drugs and commit other killings to pay the resulting debt. The intended victim was not harmed.
The FBI arrested Lopatniuk in July 2025, and he remains in custody. The charge is an accusation, and he is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
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